A Christian Menorah: The Fourth Night

My previous post sent me looking up the words "Shabbat Candle."  I knew "Shabbat" meant Sabbath, but I did not know about the tradition of lighting the Sabbath Candle every week.  (This is separate from Chanukah.)

Apparently, the timing of the lighting the Shabbat candle is very important.  There are even websites dedicated to stating the proper time depending on where you are on a specific date anywhere in the world.  The proper time is eighteen minutes before sundown on Friday night.  Once the Shabbat candles are lit, the Sabbath begins, and it does not end until sundown the following day.

There is much more to the tradition, and it is quite meaningful.  So, I will definitely write more about it in the future.

Until then, I found this article particularly enlightening - Shabbat Candles: Shedding light on the day of rest.

A Christian Menorah: The Third Night

I am cheating a bit tonight and posting my intended post for last night tonight.

The center candle on the menorah is called the Shamash candle.  It is the first candle lit, and the one that lights all of the other eight Chanukah candles.  (Note: This is not really possible to do with votive candles, so I had to improvise.  Now I know why traditional menorahs use taper candles.)

Shamash and Shabbat candles are two different things.  However, because the Sabbath began yesterday and it was also Chanukah, people of Jewish faith lit candles for more than one ceremonial tradition.

This was one of the posts from Chabad.org yesterday, which I follow on Facebook:

Shabbat candles are lit inside our home.  By contrast Chanukah's candles have to light up the darkness of light, into the street. 

Shabbat candles bring light within, but the Chanukah lights go further, also transforming the darkness outside.

May Christ be our Shabbat candle that burns inside us.  And may we bring light to everyone we meet.

Amen.

A Christian Menorah: The Second Night

Does anyone else have a favorite musical version of a Psalm?  I do.  And unfortunately, when I try to find another one to take its place, nothing seems right.  The Lord is my Light and My Salvation (Psalm 27) by Gary Miles is like no other to me.

I found an MP3 version, but it is only a very short sample.  It does not even include my favorite parts.  Still, it is the link I have decided to post for tonight.  Maybe you have another favorite version.  If you do, please post a link.

www.communityofcelebration.com/zen-cart/media/The_Lord_is_my_light_and_my_salvation.mp3

A Christian Menorah: The First Night

For the last couple of years, I have had a desire to follow the Jewish celebration of Chanukah by lighting a Menorah.  I am new to the practice, so I had to do a little reading on the tradition.

One thing that I thought was interesting and significant with the songs that have been going through my mind tonight is that a menorah is lit from right to left, like one reads Hebrew.  However, when a menorah is placed in a window, it should be lit for whoever is outside.  That means it is left to right from the inside.

That is meaningful to me as I think about, and pray for all those outside my house at the moment.  As Chanukah coincides with Thanksgiving this year, I remember and pray for all those in need and at the same time thank God for all I have been given.

Above is a list of the songs that I have found meaningful this first night.  Below are a couple links to a website that I found helpful.
www.hebrew4christians.com/Holidays/Winter_Holidays/Chanukah/chanukah.html
www.hebrew4christians.com/Blessings/Holiday_Blessings/Chanukah_Blessings/chanukah_blessings.html

A Visual Prayer - The Light that Darkness Could Not Overcome

The Day by Victo Ngai

I spent some time with this piece of art today, and I could not help but thinking--(Jesus) the Light that darkness could not overcome…  In these dark days, when the sun has already set by dinnertime, I feel like I need that assurance more than ever.

Listening Prayer - Libera - Deep Peace